I imagine many of us have been to a rock performance before. But the reality is, some performances are a lot better than others. Being a guitar player and loving music as I do I have been to several shows in my years. Some enormous. Some small. Some with well known rock stars. And some with new bands on their way up.
Here's some of the best shows I've seen and some things I learned about going to a performance on the way.
Bigger Isn't Invariably Better
I've been to some massive shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Though that show was excellent, the undeniable fact that it was huge was not the reason I enjoyed it. It's potentially the fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it interesting and fun. The confusion surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it amazing. We all made the best of an awkward situation. We all unconsciously agreed to make is something not one of us would ever forget. I suspect that is an important lesson.
As far as surprising smaller concerts, one of the best shows I saw was Little Feat at my school, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band was not yet popular and the show was attended only by about a hundred folks, but it was clear this was a great band on the way up. The performance was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might probably hold less than 500-600 concert goers when full.
And this room held many concerts while I was in class there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this ballroom, among many others.
Another little concert that was noteworthy for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, weren't super well-liked but had some great songs. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a huge hit for him. At the time, Nazz was up and coming and that performance was seen by less than 20 folk. I think the band was a bit bummed, but still put on a brilliant performance.
My First Concert
If you adore music you always remember your first massive concert. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach slightly to the south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the giant garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so certainly seeing them was amazing. But even this show was comparatively tiny. The Surf only held around 1000 folks. Today a band with a hit like that will be playing to 30-40,000 folk at a show.
But most of my live shows back then were in tiny clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always memorable to me and a very sizeable part of why I turned into a musician.
So over the years I saw many concerts. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Bros at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an exterior UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Bros and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a tiny club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 folk in a back room. (Don't get me going about the shows I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for an extended period of time, I've seen so many great performances. Hope that affects you to make your own list of your favorite concerts.
Here's some of the best shows I've seen and some things I learned about going to a performance on the way.
Bigger Isn't Invariably Better
I've been to some massive shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Though that show was excellent, the undeniable fact that it was huge was not the reason I enjoyed it. It's potentially the fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it interesting and fun. The confusion surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it amazing. We all made the best of an awkward situation. We all unconsciously agreed to make is something not one of us would ever forget. I suspect that is an important lesson.
As far as surprising smaller concerts, one of the best shows I saw was Little Feat at my school, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band was not yet popular and the show was attended only by about a hundred folks, but it was clear this was a great band on the way up. The performance was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might probably hold less than 500-600 concert goers when full.
And this room held many concerts while I was in class there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this ballroom, among many others.
Another little concert that was noteworthy for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, weren't super well-liked but had some great songs. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a huge hit for him. At the time, Nazz was up and coming and that performance was seen by less than 20 folk. I think the band was a bit bummed, but still put on a brilliant performance.
My First Concert
If you adore music you always remember your first massive concert. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach slightly to the south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the giant garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so certainly seeing them was amazing. But even this show was comparatively tiny. The Surf only held around 1000 folks. Today a band with a hit like that will be playing to 30-40,000 folk at a show.
But most of my live shows back then were in tiny clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always memorable to me and a very sizeable part of why I turned into a musician.
So over the years I saw many concerts. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Bros at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an exterior UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Bros and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a tiny club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 folk in a back room. (Don't get me going about the shows I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for an extended period of time, I've seen so many great performances. Hope that affects you to make your own list of your favorite concerts.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a longtime blues guitar player. He teaches blues guitar on his website and writes about live shows like seeing B.B. King live.
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